This is, I suppose, an adorable little guide to kid-friendly options in DC. Seemingly set up in hierarchical countdown format (the number 1 on the last entry graphically explodes like fireworks) it’s really just in alphabetical order (I hardly think the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts is the Number One “must see” during your DC visit).

As a large share of the selections revolve around hiking, this seems more suited for those having an extended stay or living in the area rather than the typical four-day visitor. My inclination to avoid poison ivy, bird droppings, and lyme disease perhaps biases me somewhat, but in the land of numerous, free world-class museums, I hardly think anyone would spend much of a precious day hoping to see a “Cooper’s hawk making a meal out of a morning dove, or the remains of a mouse that an owl discarded.”

As to the museums, she seems to include every museum rather than a best-of from the standpoint of any given ten year old. Thus the attempt to engage the kids with some of these selections seems to be a stretch. In the National Museum of Women in the Arts, for instance, “Teens may enjoy contrasting their practical clothes with the ornate Renaissance-era clothing of the young woman in Lavinian Fontana’s Portrait of a Noble Woman. Not any teen I’ve ever come across, but her observation in the attendant Eats for Kids column regarding the “draw” of Macaroni n’cheese convinces me that we must take the little ones to Capital City Brewing Company. I, of course, would never think to visit such a place otherwise….

Perhaps the best part of this book is where she moves beyond the Smithsonian and other central offerings to include a few peripheral options that most of us might not otherwise know about or consider. These include the Goddard Space Flight Center, C&O Canal boat rides, and childrens’ shows at the Kennedy Center (though certainly not the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament!). One or more of these might get added to an otherwise booked itinerary. The inclusion of a simple regional map would be most helpful in locating some of these off-the-beaten path entries’ in relation to each other and the city center. ( )

I bought this for our last family vacation this past Spring 09 and it was tremendously helpful. It gives great time and money saving tips for anyone not just families with kids. Our boys were 11 and 22 at the time of our trip and we hit many of the spots listed in the book and had a blast, saved some time and money as well. ( )